By JULIE CHECKOWAY, Salt Lake Tribune

The Americans for the Arts Action Fund, a Washington-based advocacy group, has issued its report card on the presidential candidates' positions on arts and arts education. It found a distinct difference between pending pro-arts legislation co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and a nearly decade-long voting record by GOP Sen. John McCain.

OREM, Utah -- George Wright and Tom Dickson have managed to do two things on the Web that advertising execs worldwide have yet to achieve: launch a successful viral video campaign -- and make money from it."We're Madison Avenue's biggest nightmare," says Wright, marketing manager at Orem-based Blendtec Inc.

Conventional wisdom has it that "Bonneville," which began opening in theaters this week, should tank at the box office. It's a road movie about female friendship and post-menopausal rites of passage, and its marketing budget is less than 1 percent of what most studios spend to do their talent's dry cleaning. Oh, and did I mention the film is rated PG?